Can Social Media Save Rural America?

Do We Need to Save Rural America?

Small towns either grow or begin to deteriorate over generations, making it less noticeable for those inside the community.

In some cases, creative and progressive rural cities and towns are growing tourism in and spurring their local economies.

Vibrant economies in small towns and nano-towns (populations of <2,500) are becoming more and more rare every decade.

What happens in 20-30 years when if don’t have Midwest treasures like New Harmony, Indiana?

The reality is that some towns thrive and others don’t.

Every community has the resources to increase the scope of their marketing and advertising and give themselves a better shot at generating revenue from outside sources.

One beautiful thing about social media is that it gives the little guy the opportunity to compete one on one with the big guys.

But can social media really save rural America?

I think it can and here’s how:

The opportunity to advertise small market features to big markets is an incredible value capability for business owners in cities and towns with tourist-based economies. The problem is that too many entrepreneurs, especially those over the age of 55, have written off social media for their businesses.  Leaders of chambers of commerce, business associations and convention and visitors bureaus in middle America have an opportunity to help their members work together to establish and consistently improve their online presence.

The goal for any community, merchant or organization should be an online asset that is an adequate reflection of the experience they provide.  Once this is well-established, it’s simply a matter of grabbing the attention of would-be visitors.  The ability to advertise in larger markets lets laws of scale work in the favor of the small town, as long at they have the online “bait” to lure ’em in.

But there’s a catch…

Someone has to take the lead.

Once everyone gets up and running (and it doesn’t take long), social media planning can be integrated into regularly scheduled meetings.  A staff member or chamber member can take the lead on keeping content development top of mind.  After just a few months of cooperation and consistent activity, the online personality and culture begins to take shape, providing a stronger anchor for remote advertising, in print and in electronic media.

For pennies, the organization can reach thousands of people who are interested in what it is that they have to offer by taking advantage of the incredible demographic filtering options that come with Facebook advertising.

It will take time, but high school students today are much less likely to be watching TV, reading newspapers or travel magazines or even emailing (fact: in a recent survey, I found that 1 in 5 high school students claimed they used email “rarely if ever”).  Though individual platforms may come and go (the same students described Facebook as “old” and “too much trouble” while expressing a preference toward Instagram, Twitter and Vine).

Social media is not a fad, it’s the new language of marketing.

If you are a community leader and would like help developing a big-picture social media strategy for your community or organization, please contact us.